Last night in a Joint Operation performed by the G-men and the police, a shocking truth was revealed. Alten technologies had been taken over by a group of criminals. There motives or identities aren't clear yet. Alten Technologies CEO was impersonated by one of their men. It was discreet to an extent as even the employees of Alten were unaware.

The operation led by G-men, yesterday uncovered a hidden facility below which was used as a place to hide the illegal ativities the people were up to. G-men came across heavy resistance. Due to the encounters some of the foundations of the buildings have been damaged and is now undergoing repairs.

Fighting also took place Parkin's street suffering heavy damage. According to the Officer Jenny in charge, some of the accused managed to escape in a helicopter. However police refused to provide any additional information...

Ash sighed as he finished reading the newspaper article. It had answered all the questions, G-men had been having. Apparently the company itself was hijacked by some bold group of criminals. It was eerily similar to how Team Rocket had taken over Silph all those years ago.

So perhaps this was the reason Paul was in Kalos. Ash thought. Gary had told him about his meeting with Paul at Sycamore's lab.

That reminded him he still had to do what Professor Oak had asked from him. Maybe I should go and check on Sycamore. He might still be in the hospital.

Also it was about time he reported back to Lance. This would be his last mission before he retires. He was going to get it done as quickly as possible.

I am going to miss her till then, Ash thought as he leaned back on to the sofa. He was sitting alone in the living room. The egg he had just received was carefully placed in an incubator beside him. Placing his hand on it, he could feel the warmth emitting from the egg. It was going to hatch very soon.

----

Serena was above in her room, rereading through the mail Aria had sent her. At first she hadn't thought much about the offer. But now that Ash was going to be away for a while on his mission, maybe she should invest her time into something. But deciding to join the Beyond Borders on their expedition to delta region, it could end up being a risky move. I should talk to my Mom about it, Serena thought.

----

Serena was walking towards the fields where her mother was busy training. It was still early in the morning. The grass was still laden with dew in the morning sun which gave a certain orange glow to the surroundings. She took a moment to appreciate how pleasing her hometown looked, even though she was used to seeing it everyday.

When the honey blonde reached the training place, she saw her mom was busy. She decided to wait until her mother was free to talk. After a while Grace noticed that Serena beside the fence. She asked her trainees to take a break and went towards Serena.

"Want to do some rhyhorn training now?" Grace joked.

"Nah!" Serena rolled her eyes. "I wanted to talk about something."

"Go ahead, then." Grace said.

"I received a message from Aria a few days back..." Serena told her mom everything. Also about Ash being away for some time on his mission and his decision of retiring.

Grace listened patiently with a serious expression on her face. After hearing everything she said, "So what's your take on it?"

"I... am willing to accept it. But..." Serena said slowly. "But then I would be leaving you alone again. In this faraway re-"

"Serena." Grace said putting a hand on her shoulder. "You shouldn't be worrying about me. I can still take care of myself."

"Yeah, Sorry, I-"

"No need to apologise, dear." Grace smiled. "But don't you think the thing which should really be worrying about is the Delta region? We all have heard the rumors."

"I have given some thought to it. I am not going to be alone. There will be a number of people and of course my Pokémon will be with me." Serena said. "And you know how far the media goes with the rumors. The real situation could be something else entirely."

"That's it then." Grace almost shouted. "What are you waiting for?"

"Woah..." Serena said. "Calm down, Mom."

"If I was in your place, I would have started preparing by now." Grace said laughing. "By the way, what did Ash say? You must have told him already."

"No, I haven't." Serena said sheepishly. "I was planning to go tell him after you.

"Alright." Grace started walking back towards the Rhyhorns. "Tell me later how it goes."

Saying that Grace took her leave. Serena was glad that her Mom was so supportive of her. Now she just needed to tell Ash. He too, no doubt, would support her. She couldn't help but feel a little excited about this new adventure she was undertaking.

----

Serena climbed the stairs to Ash and Gary's room. She knocked on the open door walked inside. Gary had gone out wandering after breakfast as always, so Ash was alone.

"Hi there." Ash gave her a smile. His bed was covered with clothes and other stuff. An open bag pack was lying in the bed. He was packing.

"You are leaving?!" Serena asked with wide eyes.

"Yeah, I am gonna have to..." Ash said scratching his head.

"And when were you planning to tell me?" Serena puffed her cheeks sat down on the corner of his bed.

"I...went to your room but you weren't there." Ash said slowly.

"But why do you need to go so soon?" Serena asked. "It's been only a week since you got here."

"Sadly, yes.." Ash sat down beside her. "I talked with Lance a few minutes ago. They do need me back on the job."

He took her hand into his and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I know it's abrupt and I am really sorry for it."

Serena shook her head and a smile formed on her lips. She couldn't stay mad at him for long.

"Anyway, I wanted to tell you something." Serena stood up again in excitement.

"What's it about?" Ash asked.

"Aria has invited me to join Beyond Borders. Isn't it great?" Serena asked. "With you being away, I think it's better for me to get into something like this."

"Seems good." Ash said "Yep, that would be a good decision."

He got up and continued packing his stuff.

"Isn't it?" Serena asked. "I am feeling so pumped up. Going to a whole new region will be something else all together."

"New region?" Ash looked at her. "Where are you going?"

"Yes, she said that Beyond Borders will be going to the Delta region." Serena said.

Ash was quiet for a few seconds. "You are kidding right?"

"No!" Serena said quickly. "Not at all."

"You are gonna go to the Delta region? For..for... helping people in need?" Ash asked incredulously.

"Yeah, what's wrong with that." Serena said. She couldn't understand why Ash was so surprised by it.

"But...it's dangerous out there." Ash almost whispered.

"So?" Serena asked. "And how bad could it be?"

"As bad as people getting killed." Ash said with raised eyebrows.

"Really? You believe those rumors?" Serena asked.

"Yes, I do." Ash said. "There's a reason league is not making all the details public on what's really happening."

Serena contemplated it for a moment. It was understandable that Ash was being worried about her. It's a job full of risk, no doubt. But she wasn't going to run away from the opportunity because of that.

"I understand how you are feeling Ash." Serena said. "But it will be alright. Trust me."

Ash sighed. "You have already made up your mind, haven't you?"

Serena nodded. Her boyfriend shook his head in defeat and resumed packing his bag. She wasn't liking this. It was only the beginning of their relationship and they were already having a disagreement.

"Ash, are you mad at me?" Serena asked.

"No.." Ash said without sparing her a glance. "I am just a little worried."

"Serena hugged him from behind. "So I won't be the only one being worried."

"Ha..ha.." Ash pretended to laugh. "I guess you should start packing your bags."

"Why now?" Serena asked releasing him from the hug.

"Because, I will be leaving tomorrow." Ash said.

"Heh?" Serena was confused. "What's that got to do with me packing?"

"You see..." Ash said grinning a little, still continuing to not look at her. "I am going to be in Delta too, for my mission."

"What?!" Serena was dumbfounded. She took some time to process what she had just heard. "You are joking..."

"I am not."

"You are serious?!" Serena asked still finding it hard to believe. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"It is supposed to be classified." Ash shrugged.

"Yeah...of course." Serena rolled her eyes. "So you know what this means?"

She walked towards the raven haired boy. "We will be able to see each other often. Being able to travel a whole new region with my boyfriend. It's going to be so much fun."

"This isn't about having fun, Serena." Ash kept his packing aside and turned to her. "The situation is really unstable. And if you are working for Beyond Borders, your job is perhaps more dangerous than mine. I have no idea what those people are gonna be up to. It's really making me worried."

"I know. It's alright." Serena said. "I am just looking forward to this new region. And if I am not wrong you must be too. So just stop worrying about me and embrace the situation."

Ash sighed and continued his packing. "You are right."

"It just came as a surprise, that's it. I just needed a little time." Ash said.

"It's alright." Serena winked. "So you aren't hiding any other secrets from me are you?"

"Of course not." Ash said.

"Really?" Serena eyed him suspiciously. "Then do you mind telling how did those injuries on my legs healed in one night?"

"Oh, about that.." Ash said. "I wasn't hiding it or anything. I never got the chance to explain it."

"How about now?" Serena suggested.

Ash sat down on the bed and gestured to Serena. "Sit, this will take a while."

"Have you ever heard about the powers of Aura?" Ash asked.